The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 eBook

made a loud uproar resembling that of splitting hills.
Stay—­Here I stand,—­Know this
one,—­Turn back,—­Stand,—­I
wait for thee—­Strike,—­these were
the words heard everywhere. And the sound of
falling coats of mail made of gold, of crowns and
diadems, and of standards resembled the sound of falling
stones on a stony ground. And heads, and arms
decked with ornaments, falling by hundreds and thousands
upon the ground moved in convulsions. And some
brave combatants, with heads severed from their trunks,
continued to stand weapons in grasp or armed with drawn
bow. And a dreadful river of blood began to flow
there, of impetuous current, miry with flesh and blood,
and with the bodies of (dead) elephants for its (sub-aqueous)
rocks. Flowing from the bodies of steeds, men,
and elephants, and delightful to vultures and jackals,
it ran towards the ocean represented by the next world.
A battle such as that, O king, which (then) took place
between thy sons, O Bharata, and the Pandavas, was
never seen or heard before. And in consequence
of the bodies of combatants slain in that conflict,
cars could not make their way. And the field
of battle in consequence of the bodies of slain elephants
seemed to be strewn over with blue crests of hills.
And the field of battle, strewn with variegated coats
of mail and turbans, O sire, looked beautiful like
the firmament autumn. And some combatants were
seen who, though severely wounded, yet rushed cheerfully
and proudly upon the foe in battle. And many,
fallen on the field of battle, cried aloud, saying—­’O
father, O brother, O friend, O kinsman, O companion,
O maternal uncle, do not abandon me.’—­And
others cried aloud, saying,—­’Come!
Come thou here! Why art thou frightened?
Where dost thou go? I stand in battle, do not
be afraid.’ And in that combat Bhishma,
the son of Santanu, with bow incessantly drawn to
a circle, shot shafts of blazing points, resembling
snakes of virulent poison. And shooting continuous
line of arrows in all directions, that hero of rigid
vows smote the Pandava car-warriors naming each beforehand,
O Bharata. And displaying his extreme lightness
of hands, and dancing (as it were) along the track
of his car, he seemed, O king, to be present everywhere
like a circle of fire. And in consequence of
the lightness of his movements, the Pandavas in that
battle, along with the Srinjayas, beheld that hero,
though really alone, as multiplied a thousand-fold.
And every one there regarded Bhishma as having multiplied
his self by illusion. Having seen him now on the
east, the next moment they saw him on the west.
And so having seen him on the north, the next moment
they saw him on the south. And the son of Ganga
was thus seen fighting in that battle. And there
was no one amongst the Pandavas capable of even looking
at him. What they all saw were only the innumerable
shafts shot from his bow. And heroic warriors,
beholding him achieve such feats in battle, and (thus)
slaughtering their ranks, uttered many lamentations.